Concrete slab form fill-in panel structure and supporting bracket therefor



Feb. 23, 1965 w. D. WILLIAMS 3,170,217

CONCRETE SLAB FORM FILL-IN PANEL STRUCTURE AND SUPPORTING BRA FOR Filed Dec CKET THERE 3, 1963 INVENTOR; WALTER D. WiLLIAMS ATT'Y United States Patent CONCRETE SLAB FORM FILL-IN PANEL STRUC TUBE AND SUPPORTING BRACKET THEREFOR Walter D. Williams, River Forest, 111., assignor to Symons Mfg. Company, Des Plaines, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 327,680 1 Claim. (Cl. 25-1315) present invention being designed for use in accommodat-' ing an odd dimension that cannot be otherwise accommodated by the use of a commercial or regular Steel- Ply panel of standard width, all in a manner that will be explained in greater detail presently.

The invention has been specifically designed, for use in connection with the erection of concrete buildings utiliz-.

ing the structure that is disclosed in co-pending, United States patent application Serial No. 84,574, now patent No. 3,130,470, filed on January 24, 1961 by'George F. Bowden and Byron Ruth and entitled Concrete Wall Form Installation. The structure of such patent application is predicated upon the use of concrete form panels which are commonly known as Steel-Ply panels, are widely used in industry, and are manufactured and sold by Symons Mfg Company of Des Plaines,- Illinois. A concrete form panel of the type that is known as a Steel-Ply panel and is shown and described in aforementioned patent application Serial No. 84,574, now patent No. 3,130,470 consists essentially of a shallow tray-like structure in the form of a fiat rectangular ply-' wood facing, the marginal edges of which are completely encased in a rectangular metallic reinforcing frame including longitudinal and transverse frame -members. Such a concrete form panel, when usedin a horizontal floor slab form installation, is adapted to be arranged in edge-to-edge relationship with similar Panels and in such manner that all of the plywood facings lie ina common horizontal'plane in order that wet concrete maybe poured on the continuous unbroken upwardly presented slab-supporting surface that is offered by thet plywood facings.

Steel-Ply panels ofthe type under consideration are manufactured in sizes which vary'both as to length andwidth, the sizes however,rbeing standardized both as to length and width, and in certain multiples of one foot. In the particular structure of the aforementioned copending patent application, the panels are supported at their ends on vertically movable supporting rails which are associated with horizontally extendingastringers, the stringers, in turn, being supported on adjustable height shores. After the wet concrete has been poured on the plywoodfacings of the horizontally disposededge-to-edge panels to produce. the floor slab, and after-the concrete has become sufiiciently set as tobe self-supporting, the

supporting rails are lowered and, thereafter, the panels are removed so that they may be immediately reused in the ture of the character briefly outlined above being among formation of floor slabs at other levels in the same build ing. By such a procedure, it is not necessary to await complete curing of the concrete before panel-rernoval operations as had heretofore been considered necessary. v

It frequently happens, in connection'with the aforementioned method of builidng construction or erection, that a small odd dimension presents itself ina longitudinal direction of the slab form structure, i.e., a direction extending lengthwise of the stringers which support the regular Steel-Ply panels, albeit, a direction transversely of the individual panels. By an odd dimension is meant one which is smaller than the smallest Width panel or one for which, otherwise, no regular panel of proper,

size exists. The fill-in panel structure of the present invention is designed to accommodate such a situation and,

toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel and inexpensive Steel-Ply panel substitute which 'is capable of completely filling-in the so-called odd dimension and presents a plywood panel facing of its own, such facing registering in edge-to-edge relation with the plywood panel facings of whatever Steel-Ply panels may be positioned adjacent thereto in the installation. The novel supporting brackets which are associated with, and

form a part of, such a fill-in structure serve not only to support the actual fill-instructure, but also to permit removal of the fill-in structure at the time that the adjacent regular Steel-Ply panels are taken down for reuse jas heretofore described. I l

The fill-in panel structure of the present invention may find use not only for odd dimension fill-in purposes, but

also it may be found useful as an inexpensive substitute panel for a standard size panel which, otherwise, would have to be mutilated so that it could no longer be reused. For example, where the architects orthe engineers specifications require that an electrical conduit or a gas or water pipe shall pass through a floor or ceiling ata region which otherwise is to be occupied by a Steel-Ply panel so that it, would be necessary to damage the plywood facing of the panel by drilling or cutting a hole therethrough, the fill-in panel structure of the present inven tion may be so dimensioned that it may be'substituted for the Steel-Ply panel and, after it has served its purpose, it may be discarded or reserved for cutting to a smaller size for a subsequent reuse. v

The provision of a concrete slab form fill-in panel structhe principal and general objects of, the invention, it is a specific object to provide such a fill-in panel structure wherein the supporting brackets thereof are so "designed ture is locked in position between supporting stringers therefor and will not become-inadvertently. dislodged,

either between the time that the fill-in panel structure is first placed in position and the time of concrete pouring,- or at the time that the vertically movable supporing; rails on the stringers are lowered for the purpose of removing the fill-in panel structure.

Another specific object of the'invention is to provide a, fill-in panel structure in which the supporting brackets.

thereof'rnay be shipped independently to the site of building erection and then combined with lumberwork that is 7 available in the field to produce the finished fill-in panel Patented Feb. 23, 1965 p structure, such structure thus being constructed empirically in the field to accommodate such needs as may arise.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts that are shown in the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top perspective view of a portion of a concrete floor slab form structure or installation, the view being taken in the vecinity of one of the ll-in panel structures of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary underneath or bottom perspective view of another portion of the structure or installation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the vertical plane indicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the supporting brackets that are employed in connection with, and form a part of the fill-in panel structure of, the present invention and showing in dotted lines the same operatively installed upon one end of a supporting beam; and

FIG. 5 is a reduced perspective view of the improved and novel fill-in panel structure in detached or unsupported condition.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, fragmentary portions of a concrete floor slab form installation or structure of the type disclosed in aforementioned copending patent application Serial No. 84,574 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, both illustrations embodying the same fill-in panel structure and the latter being designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10. The fragmentary portions of the concrete floor slab form installation which have been illustrated herein for exemplary purposes include only a portion of a panel-supporting stringer 12, and a fragmentary portion of a single Steel- Ply panel 14. It will be understood, however, and reference to the aforementioned patent application will reveal, that a complete concrete floor slab form installation consists of a series of vertical shores which support a number of the stringers 12 with the stringers extending in parallelism and with the standard or regular Steel- Ply panels 14 bridging the distance between adjacent parallel stringers. The shores of the installation have not been illustrated herein since they bear no direct relation to the fill-in panel structure of the present invention, and it has been deemed necessary to illustrate only one stringer and one Steel-Ply panel. The stringer serves to support one end of the illustrated Steel-Ply panel, and it is to be understood that the other end of the panel Will be supported by a'similar stringer that is spaced laterally from and extends parallel to the illustrated stringer 12. The panel 14 of the concrete floor slab form installation comprises a rectangular plywood facing 20, together with a marginal rectangular steel reinforcing frame including side frame bars 22 and end frame bars 24. Crossbars 26 extend between the side frame bars 22 at appropriate distances therealong. The side frame bars 22 and end frame bars 24are channel-shape in cross section and are provided with slots 28 at spaced points therealong. for cooperation with certain fastening devices when the panels are vertically disposed in edge-to-edge relationship when used in a concrete wall form installation. Insofar as the present invention is concerned, the

channel shape of the frame bars 22 and 24 and the exists ence of the slots 28 are immaterial and their disclosure herein is purely incidental.

Inwardly and laterally extending horizontal flanges 30 are formed on the frame bars 22 and 24 below the upper edges thereof for seatingof the marginal edges of the rectangular plywood facing 20. The facing, when so seated, lies flush with the upper rim of the marginal reinforcing frame so that the upper side of the panel 14 as a whole presents a smooth unbroken surface upon which concrete may be poured for floor slab-forming purposes.

The stringer 12 is in the form of an I-beam having top and bottom flanges 32 and 34 and a vertical connecting web 36. Reference may be had to the aforementioned co-pending patent application for a full understanding of the nature and operation of said stringer, but for purposes of discussion herein with relation to the present invention, it is deemed necessary only to disclose that the stringer 12 is provided with a longitudinal series of spaced apart arcuate slots 38 in the web 36 thereof, these slots cooperating with respective clamping bolt assemblies 39 in maintaining a horizontal ledge-forming panel support in the form of an angle piece-type rail 40 in either an elevated or a lowered position. In its ele-' vated position as shown in FIG. 2, the rail piece 40 will support the adjacent end of the panel 14 which is positioned thereon at such a level that the upper horizontal surface of the plywood facing 20 is flush with the top flange 32 of the adjacent panel-supporting stringer 12. In this manner, all of the panels and all of the stringers of the concrete floor slab form present a smooth unbroken planar horizontal surface on which the concrete of the floor slab to be formed may be poured. After the poured concrete has become sufficiently set that it will support its own weight, the various angle piece-type rails 40 of the stringers may be lowered to the extent permitted by the arcuate slots 38, thus atfording sufficient space beneath the concrete floor slab to permit stripping of the various panels from the installation. Stripping and removal of the panels are accomplished by, first, breaking any molecular adhesion which may occur between the plywood facings and the formed concrete floor slab, and then, lowering the panels to release the ends thereof from the upper I-beam flanges 32. After such steps, the panels may be shifted lengthwise to dislodge them from the rails and, thereafter, withdrawn. When initially placed with their ends resting upon the opposed angle piece-type rails 40 of adjacent stringers 12, upstanding lugs 41 on the rails 40 lie within the marginal confines of the lower rim portions of the reinforcing frames of the Steel-Ply panels and function as limit stops to prevent endwise sliding of the panels. These lugs 41 similarly function to prevent endwise sliding of the fill-in panel structure 10 of the present invention in a manner that will be described presently.

The fill-in panel structure 10 of the present invention is shown in its entirety in FIG. 5, and it is to be noted that it is in the form of an assembly of parts including an elongated, narrow, panel facing 42 which, when the structure is operatively installed in the concretefloor slab form installation, is coplanar with the facings 20 of the adjacent Steel-Ply panels 14. By way of explanation of the use of the present fill-in panel structure, it is pointed out that Steel-Ply panels are manufactured in standard sizes both as to their width and their length, as previously pointed out. If, in a given installation, there exists a small odddimension, either transversely or longitudinally of the stringers 12, it is not practical to manufacture a special sized Steel-Ply panel to accommodate such odd dimension. Accordingly, it has been the practice to fillin the odd dimension with whatever lumber may be available, cutting the lumber to size at the scene or site of the installation. One method of accommodating a transverse odd dimension and another method of accommodating a longitudinal odd dimension have been illustrated in the aforementioned co-pending patent application Serial No. 84,574. The present invention constitutes an improved means for accommodating a small odd dimension which extends longitudinally of the installation, i.e., of the stringers which support the regular Steel-Ply panels. Accordingly, the fill-in panel structure 10, when operatively positioned in the installation, has its panel facing lying in the common plane of all of the plywood facings 20 of the panels 14, presents its end edges flush against the top flanges 32 of the adajcent stringer 12, and presents I itselon'g'ated side edges flush withthe top flanges 44 of adjacent side frame has 22 of the adjacent Steel-Ply? panels. p

The panel facing 42 of the fill-in panel structure is supported upon one or more wooden beams 46 which may be in the form of 4" x 4" lumber, two such beams being illustarted herein as extending in parallelism and as being coextensive with the panel facing 42 in the direction of its elongation, this direction extending transversely of or at right angles to the stringers 12. Preferably, but not necessarily, the panel facing 42 may be secured by nails 48 to the wooden beams 46. The side edges of the panel facing extends at least to the remote upper elongated edges of the beams and in most instances, they overhang these beam edges. The beams 46 are spaced apart a sufficient distance that when they are supported from the rails 40 in a manner subsequently to be described, the fill-in panel structure will possess a degree of stable equilibrium and will not tilt under the force of concrete poured upon the facing 42 thereof;

In order operatively to support the fill-in panel structure 10 on the opposed rails 40 of the stringers 12, cradle-like metal brackets 50, preferably of steel, are mounted on the ends of each wooden beam 46. These brackets include outstanding strap-like extensions 52 which rest directly upon the rails. The details of one of the brackets 50 are best illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the bracket is shown as comprising a generally rectangular, comparatively wide, U-shaped band which encompasses three sides of the adjacent end region of the beam 46 and consists of vertical side wings 54 and a horizontal connecting web 56 under the underneath face of the beam. Nail holes 58 are formed in the web 56 to facilitate nailing of the bracket to the beam by way of nails 60 such as are shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. An edge of the U-shaped bracket lies flush with the adjacent end face of the beam. Projecting longitudinally outwardly from the adjacent end of the beam is the previously mentioned strap-like extension 52, this extension constituting a horizontally disposed, U-shaped, supporting and retaining member 62 in the form of a sheet metal loop of rectangular configuration, the member including side flanges 64 which straddle and are welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the side wings 54 of the bracket 59, and also including a transverse connecting Web 66. The straplike extension 62 is positioned adjacent to the upper regions of the bracket 50 and is adapted to be loosely supported by gravity upon the adjacent rail 40 in' the manner clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 with the extension encompassing one of the lugs 40 which projects upwardly from the upper flange of the associated angle piece-type rail 40. Since one of the brackets 50 is dis posed adjacent to each end of each wooden beam 46, each fill-in panel structure includes four of these brackets and all of them are identical in configuration and in their mode of attachment to the beams with which they are associated. I

The installation of the fill-in panel structure 10 is accomplished in substantially the same manner as the installation of one of the Steel-Ply panels 14. The over-all end-to-end length of the structure 10, Le, the distance between the webs 66 of the oppositely disposed extensions 62, is slightly less than the distance between the web portions 36 of the two opposed stringers which support the fill-in panel structure.

adjacent rail 40. The beam is then raised to a substantween adjacent Steel-Ply panels in the manner previous ly described and, thereafter, nailed or not, as desired. If the panel 42 is nailed to the Wooden beams 46 prior to installation of the fill-in panel structure, the installation is effected bodily as a unit by lifting the entire structure 10 into position in a manner similar to the installation of each individual beam 46. After mounting of the fill-in panel structure 10, the rails 40 are raised so as to bring the top face of the facing 42 flush with the top faces of the upper I-beam flanges 32. Removal of the fill-in panel structure 10 is effected by a reversal of the operation just described in connection with the installation thereof but after lowering of the rails 40.

It will be understood, of course, that the installation of the fill-in panel structure 10 is preferably made with the rails 40 in their fully raised positions since there is ing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example while each bracket 50 has been shown herein as being provided with a strap-like extension 62 which is separately formed from the bracket and subsequently welded in position thereon, obviously the extension and bracket proper may be formed in one piece. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claim is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a concrete floor slab form installation, in combination, a pair of elongated panel-supporting stringers disposed in spaced parallel relationship, means on said stringers defining opposed ledge-forming panel supports having upstanding lugs thereon, a series of rectangular panels including panel facings and having their opposite end regions resting upon said supports and bridging the distance between the stringers, adjacent panels in the series being disposed in contiguity and edge-to-edge relationship in a direction extending longitudinally of the stringers with the panel facings thereof lying'in a common horizontal plane and presenting a smooth uninterrupted surface on which the concrete of the slab is adapted to be poured, one pair of adjacent panels being separated by a small odd dimension, and afill-in panel structure for a fill-in panel facing of a size commensurate with said odd dimension, a pair of spaced apart parallel beams of rectangular cross section and underlying and supporting said fill-in panel facing, a supporting bracket mounted on each end region of each beam, each supporting bracket including a bracket proper in the form of an upright U-shaped cradle-like part having side wings straddling the opposite sides of the associated beam and a connecting web underlying and nailed to the underneath face of the associated beam, and a bracket extension on said bracket proper in the form of a rectangular loop of sheet metal having side flanges projecting from the forward edges of the side wings, and a transverse connecting web, the extensions of the various brackets resting on-edge upon and being supported by said ledge-forming panel supports, the loops of sheet metal which comprise said extensions each encircling one of the upstanding lugs on the ledge-forming supports, said fill-in panel facing lying in the common horizontal plane of the panel faeings of the panels and providing a continuation of the smooth uninterrupted surface afforded by the panel facing's.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,829 7/94 Goetz 20-94 1,097,934 5/14 Price 2 094 FOREIGN PATENTS 405,840 2/34 Great Britain.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Examiner. 

